Tracking
the Journey
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Distance to go:
0 Mi
Distance
Ben and Tarka will cover 1800 miles starting from Scott's Terra Nova Hut at the edge of Antarctica to the South Pole and back to the coast again. That's equivalent to 69 back-to-back marathons hauling up to 200kg each (the weight of roughly two adult men) of kit and supplies necessary to survive.
Distances here are shown in statute miles.
One Week In (Day 7)
Day 7: S78° 03' 53.58", E168° 25' 11.58"
Duration: 6 Hr
Daily distance: 5.4 Mi
Distance to go: 1753.4 Mi
Temperature: -32 °C
Wind chill: -41 °C
Altitude: 92 Ft
On our seventh day on the ice, things are finally looking up. We had a freezing, miserable morning with a soft, sticky surface that slowed us to a crawl, and a biting windchill that seemed determined to freeze our fingers, toes and faces.
Getting going in the morning is perhaps the hardest part of the day. We take the tent down and pack our sleds wearing big down jackets, removing them just before we start skiing. Then comes a difficult balancing act: setting off fast enough to generate enough heat to thaw our painful digits/noses and generally get our bodies feeling comfortably warm again, yet cautiously enough to avoid straining a stiff, cold tendon or muscle.
The first three hours of today were pretty grim, then we suddenly appeared - in the space of a few feet - to cross a mysterious threshold where the surface became instantly and infinitely better. It was like my sled had snapped in half, and I suddenly found myself standing more upright rather than leaning deep into my harness, and able to ski for 10 or 15 minutes at a time, rather than 10 or 15 paces. It stayed like that for the rest of the day, so we're feeling optimistic.
A few questions we've been sent...
Q) Can you see any remains of early explorer's depots or cairns?
A) Other than Scott's wooden huts at the coast from the Discovery and Terra Nova expeditions, there's no sign they were here. Any cairns (and even Scott's tent and burial site) are buried under a century's worth of snow, and I think would also have drifted out towards the coast (though I'm not entirely sure of the dynamics of the Ross Ice Shelf).
Q) Do you have sails for your sleds?
A) Nope! Scott did, but I don't think they had a great deal of use out of them, and using modern-day traction kites that can cover hundreds of kilometres in a day would have made this a very different sort of expedition - far more about weather, luck and skill than endurance.
Q) What is your daily routine? When do you get up, start walking, etc? What do you do in the tent?
A) I'll write about this soon!
Q) How do you alleviate pain e.g. bruises from your harnesses?
A) We have a pretty comprehensive first aid kit, though other than a bit of tape we've yet to use any of it.
Q) How cold was the plane?
A) Once they had the heating going, it was very warm!
Q) Is Amundsen's flag still at the South Pole?
A) I genuinely have no idea what happened to his flag. Does anyone else know?
Q) Is your stove modified? What fuel does it run on? A) The stove is an unmodified MSR XGK EX, though it's on a custom-made carbon fibre stove board (I've attached a photo) and we use MSR titanium fuel bottles, which they don't make any more. The cooking pot is a Primus ETA with a modified MSR heat exchanger. The stove runs on Coleman fuel (white gas).
Q) What temperature is it in the tent?
A) It varies enormously! We recorded plus 12 degrees centigrade last night(!) but it goes down to at least the -20s while we're asleep.
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Comments
# Enrico, November 1st 2013
I’m reading the Cherry-Garrard’s book from just two weeks and I find you that are doing this now. I have no words… Be careful and thanks!
# shane, November 1st 2013
Loving the blow by blow account that was never possible in the origional trip. I love that you guys are creating a new generation of childhood dreams that we all once had when reading the Scott and Shackleton stories for the first time.
Tail winds and blue skies.
# George Chapman, November 1st 2013
Hello guys. Looks likes things are going well for you today. It appears you’re covering more ground. If my math is correct you need to average about 16 miles per day to make this round trip in 110 days. Since we have just got started I think your doing great. Have not exactly determined how many hours a day you are moving. I do notice you are moving during the night time when it’s colder. If I’m correct your operating in New Zealand Time Zone or (NZDT).
May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.
# dj, November 2nd 2013
After the “discovery” you made yesterday about the difference in ice structure, and wrote about this am, I’ve gone back through all my reference material I’m using and researched further without finding any other written description like that. It’s obviously a demarcation of some sort where the ice has developed with more frictional inclusions. You’ve previously said that the “snow” is salty - is that so still? Perhaps the ice you are on now contains less salt or froze more slowly, which produces a smaller, clearer crystal.
I’m wondering why no one seems to have written about it before - could it be perhaps, because they were on horses or “mobiles?” Good going guys, geeze I wish you could have taken a couple of samples - but perhaps that’s for your next visit, eh? (or on the way back?)
# Awa, November 2nd 2013
“Getting going in the morning is perhaps the hardest part of the day.”
Possibly a solution I think of is as soon as you wake up, to plug in the ears motivating music and get done with the chores right away while singing. All you need is a motivational kick in the brain at such moments, and then you are ahead without realizing it.
I hope you are well and you stay strong, no matter how fast you reach your goal.
More photos please! :)
# George Chapman, November 2nd 2013
It appears from your track that you had a good day today (11-1-13). Glad to see your progressing toward the goal. Thanks for all your post. Wishing the both of you a nice weekend.
# Antoinette Wiid, November 2nd 2013
Greetings from Cape Town. I am inspired by your courage. Walking in the footsteps of the giants of Antarctica stay safe
# Paul, November 2nd 2013
According to The Great Wikipedia, ice on the Ross Ice Shelf moves North at 1.5m to 3m per day. Would correspond to 55-110km movement over ~100yrs since Scott. So I guess there is a chance some of the remnants of the early expeditions are still on the shelf.
Interesting about your stove and fuel. How much fuel do you have with you in total on the sleds ?
Sat for a while at the kitchen table yesterday with a cup of tea just thinking about you two in grim conditions on the ice shelf. God speed on your journey…
Dallas, TX
# Sunil Mathur, November 2nd 2013
I am unable to read your blog daily because of my own workload, but was good to see your optimism today. Great pictures too. The beauty of Antarctica is one thing but deciding the frame is equally important. Yesterday’s pic of you walking into the sun was great too.
Its the big Indian festival of Lights (Diwali) tomorrow and here’s wishing you both a Wonderful, Warm and Happy Diwali. Good luck and be safe…. Sunil at Westernport, Australia.
# Stephen J Turner, November 6th 2013
You are true explorers,are there any birds flying around that far into the continent?